Refusing to Be Silenced — Part Two

6th June 2025

Today, my head feels full again. Theres a weight sitting heavy on my chest, pressing down with everything I haven't been able to say out loud — not just to friends or professionals, but even to myself. The truth is, I am tired of being made to feel like I should just let this go.

But I can't. Because deep down, I know what happened, and I know it's not okay.

We weren't supposed to be treated like this. Our little girl wasn't supposed to be treated like this. We did everything we were supposed to do as parents. We raised the alarm, we asked for help, we trusted the systems in place. And instead, we were pushed aside. Invalidated. Our daughters words — her disclosure — treated as inconvenient noise.

And now, I'm made to feel foolish for continuing to speak up. Like I'm the problem, not the systems that failed. I've been made to feel like a nuisance. But what would it say about me — about who I am as a mother — if I stayed quiet just to be palatable?

I won't be silent. I won't let this be brushed under the rug like it never happened. Even if it makes people uncomfortable. Even if it means losing friendships or being disliked in a small community. Because the alternative — staying quiet — means becoming part of the problem.

Our daughter is just a little girl. She trusted us. She trusted the Leader at her early years setting. She found the words to say what happened, and now that trust has been shattered. If she remembers this in the future, she deserves to know that we fought for her. That we didn't give up when the adults around her chose self-protection over safeguarding. That we were the ones who refused to pretend everything was fine when it wasn't.

Yes, I am angry. Yes, I am hurting. But that doesn't make me wrong. It makes me a mother who will never stop trying to do the right thing, no matter how hard it is.

And maybe I don't know yet what change will look like. Maybe I don't have the answer today. But I will find a way to make sure this doesn't happen again — not just for us, but for other families, too.

Let them say what they want. I know my truth.